BBDO/ Proximity India launches study on power and dynamics of social movements

BBDO/ Proximity India, the youngest agency of BBDO Worldwide, and the Omnicom Group have launched a study on the power and dynamics of social movements, and the implications they have on brands. The study, called ‘How your brand can incite a movement’, analyses over a hundred social movements from across the world that have had significant impact on the way large numbers of people think and behave. Included in the study are movements driven for commercial goals.

BBDO/ Proximity has concluded that despite a large degree of diversity and complexity of the movements studied, all successful movements can be reduced into three distinct phases – namely, ‘motivation’, ‘agitation’ and ‘explosion’. All successful movements move through each of these phases, but within each of these phases, the critical factors and dynamics are very different.

The study also develops clear and practical guidelines for marketers and agencies to embed these learnings into the strategies. BBDO/ Proximity concludes that while it may not be appropriate for every brand to create its own movement, any brand can accelerate their growth and their power by adopting some of the principles that have made social movements successful.

BBDO/ Proximity India has developed several successful marketing campaigns based on these principles, including the recent ‘Women Against Lazy Stubble’ campaign for Gillette that won at Cannes this year and Aviva ‘Great Wall of Education’ to underline their brand commitment ‘Education is Insurance’.

Andy Wilson, Chairman of the Asia Planning Council for BBDO/ Proximity, who is spearheading the study in Asia, commented, “Ideas have been spreading throughout populations long before brands were in existence. Understanding how those ideas spread and changed people’s behaviour, and what factors allowed some movements succeed while others fail, has allowed us to shed significant insight on how to manage brand campaigns.”

Chris Thomas, Chairman and CEO, BBDO/ Proximity Asia, said, “This is a significant piece of original thinking that will prove of incredible value to any client wishing to generate behavior change on a mass scale, or generate irrational loyalty for their brands. This study provides us with significant insights into how this can be done effectively.”

Ajai Jhala, CEO, BBDO/ Proximity India, added here, “India is a country whose history and culture is built on the constant spreading sharing of ideas, so this study is particularly relevant to our clients. What is unique about this study is that it takes as its start-point mass behaviour change and understands how that comes about.”

Josy Paul, Chairman and CCO, BBDO/ Proximity India, said, “We believe that the time is right for big brands to pursue transformational ideas that create action that increase active participation and new advocacy. It’s time to ‘create acts, not ads’. As individuals become mediums, and social networking speeds up conversation, we are moving from thought-leadership to action-leadership.”